


Beginnings

by denise (denise3)



Series: TBG: Preludes [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations
Genre: Doctor Who AU, Gen, Star Trek 50th Anniversary, Teasers & Trailers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-23 07:58:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4869227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/denise3/pseuds/denise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Junior agent Gariff Lucsly of the Department of Temporal Investigations is sent on an unusual special mission. Partnered with a demanding senior agent, he must meet an alien renegade who has a history with the Federation: the Doctor!<br/>Rated T for mild swearing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Briefing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third teaser for my upcoming series "The Enterprise and the Doctor".  
> Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek, nor Doctor Who.

_Personal Log, Gariff Lucsly, Stardate 27050.41. We have left San Francisco on the Falco, en route to Al Rijil VII, on an impromptu mission for the Department. I was forced to give up the plans for my upcoming leave when the message arrived, since I was the only other agent on call besides Agent Bel, after many agents, including my partner, went down with Zek flu and were quarantined. Agent Bel has just called a meeting, when I expect her to finally lend me the briefing papers which were somehow missing from my orders._

#### Stardate 27050.43  - Starship Falco's briefing room

  
Agent Gariff Lucsly, of the Department of Temporal Investigations of the Federation, entered the briefing room early for his upcoming meeting, only to find Agent Bel already there. She acknowledged his presence with a minute nod towards one chair on the other side of the table, and continued working on her PADD. Lucsly dropped his own PADD on the table and sat with trepidation. Unscheduled missions like this one almost always meant something very wrong, and possibly very dangerous, had already happened and it was up to them to handle the consequences. In a way, he was lucky to be here, with one of the most experienced agents of the DTI. As a junior agent, he could use the opportunity to learn how to deal with situations like that. But that doesn't mean he had to like it.  
  
Besides, he dreaded having to work with the unflappable Tozenor again. Last time he had almost lost his composure after the infuriating senior Agent, on the post-mission debriefing, had meticulously commented on how each one of his actions and decisions had somehow fallen short of his "potential". He had to admit, grudgingly, that she had been mostly correct, and he did take advantage of her input later on, but her patronizing ways were rather difficult to bear.  
  
At exactly the appointed moment, his tall dark-skinned humanoid partner, with her deep black eyes and elongated face, lowered the PADD and stared at the younger agent. The top of her head was covered in a blue-grey fuzz, which descended to her neck and shoulders down the outside of her arms. She was dressed in the regular grey uniform of a DTI agent, but lacking sleeves, so her arm hair could be seen, forming tufts at the elbow.  
  
"Welcome, Agent Lucsly. I gather you haven't been briefed on the details yet."  
  
"No, ma'am, all I know is that we have to be on the central marketplace of the city of Tennaa, on the southwestern continent of Al Rijil VII, on stardate 27053.8." That was why they were aboard the  _Falco_ , a small, fast courier assigned by Starfleet to the DTI for exactly these kind of missions. Otherwise they'd be going on a much slower roundabout, and take one week or more on each leg.  
  
"Precisely. It's a Code 17. I assume you are familiar with Special Code missions?"  
  
Lucsly blanched, but otherwise kept strict control of himself. "Yes. I've been to three Special Code missions already, but none of them was a Code 17. How many Codes are there?"  
  
"No one knows. Some suspect the Velarii add new Codes as they deem fit." She might have smirked at that, but Lucsly was uncertain. A Tozenor's facial expressions were often quite difficult to interpret. "But Code 17 is a relatively common one. I've been to a few of them myself."  
  
He inwardly shuddered. The Special Codes were brief messages received from their mysterious allies through their temporal communicator device installed in the DTI Headquarters. They consisted only of a numerical code, time and spatial coordinates, with perhaps just a few words added. The code was a reference to a prepackaged briefing, containing all the backgound a DTI agent would need to deal with the type of situation, and the added words briefly gave the specific context with maybe a hint to guide the agents on the alternatives. The Velarii apparently were unwilling to give too much information, instead trusting the DTI agents to use their own judgment on the matter. It was one of the few things Lucsly appreciated about their alliance.  
  
Since Agent Bel didn't seem to be going to volunteer more information, he decided to forge ahead with questions.  
  
"What is a Code 17, then? Not a spacetime rift." That one had been frightening, but ultimately straightforward. "A lost artifact, maybe? Sorry, these are Code 2. I've been to one, already." It had been the most adventurous mission Lucsly had had up to that moment, what with the smugglers, pirates and the odd temporal agent all trying to take possession of the artifact and prevent the others from getting it. He'd be happy if he never had a mission like that again.  
  
"Codes 10 and 12 deal with artifacts as well, but no, Code 17 is an individual who we have to track down."  
  
"A person. A dealer on ancient temporal artifacts?" She didn't blink, but frowned minutely. "A survivor from a time-displacement event?" No change. "A rogue temporal agent from the future?" All cases which would readily fall under DTI jurisdiction, the last being one of the worst threats the DTI was meant to fight and Lucsly's personal nightmare. Nearly as worse as a certain reckless Starfleet captain with too many temporal violations under his belt.  
  
"Neither. He's an alien renegade, from an unknown species, who sometimes drifts into Federation territory."  
  
"A... renegade," he stated, struggling to keep his face impassive. Well, at least he's not a time-traveler.  
  
"Most likely from a very advanced civilization, who can come and go as he pleases, without being intercepted by Starfleet."  
  
"That doesn't explain why we are charged with dealing with him, instead of the diplomatic corps. Or, say, Starfleet Intelligence."  
  
"The reason we are charged with, as you say, 'dealing' with him is that the Velarii are very interested in his comings and goings, and especially to ensure that no one tries to detain him."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He may be a renegade, but they believe his people probably continues to keep tabs on him from time to time and they might decide to check on him if he suddenly disappears. That would be very bad," she said.  
  
"So the Velarii probably know a lot more about him and his people than they are willing to tell us." He really wished the DTI weren't the only Federation outfit the Velarii seemed to tolerate.  
  
"That's a given. Anyway the Federation has already tried to capture the Doctor twice."  
  
"The Doctor? But wasn't he..."  
  
"The second time," she interrupted him, "the Velarii themselves intervened. The Federation might have been destroyed that day if it weren't for them."  
  
Lucsly felt the chill on his spine at the thought. There were a lot more dangers to the Federation than the common citizen suspected. And at least a few of them came from such unfathomably alien advanced civilizations who either ignored their existence or dismissed them as unimportant. It was for reasons such as these that the alliance with the Velarii was valued and kept, in spite of all the stresses and difficulties.  
  
"But he continues to visit us, even after that."  
  
"He's a very... unusual... individual," she said. She must know, having met him before, but Lucsly could only guess at what she meant by that.  
  
"If I remember well," and of course he remembered his extensive studies on the infamous Starfleet officer, "James Kirk met the Doctor a number of times during his five-year mission." The problem was that summed up almost all the information on him available to the public - and to junior DTI agents. So Lucsly was curious, in spite of himself.  
  
"Indeed. As I was saying, the Doctor is not hostile to us, quite the contrary. He may not be very fond of Starfleet, or of us, but on occasion he has availed himself of our help or even offered his own. Both then with the  _Enterprise_ , and now, when our agents are tasked with following him. Note that," she continued, before Lucsly could interrupt, "he will certainly detect our presence almost immediately, even before we manage to identify him. And he'll try to evade us. It's our job to avoid scaring him away while staying on his tail until we can complete our mission."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"Find him, follow him, figure what he's up to this time, ensure that no one else tries to interfere with him, and stick with him until he leaves." She stopped but Lucsly knew it wasn't all.  
  
"There's more," he said.  
  
"Quite. There's also the special instructions." She paused, but this time Lucsly waited for her to continue. For once her smirk was recognizable enough. She finally said, "We are to deliver an object to him."  
  
"Object? Which one?"  
  
"This container," and she showed him a cylindrical container approximately thirty centimeters in length by eight centimeters in diameter. It was a dark gray object, decorated in silver whorls with intersecting lines, apparently made of some sort of metal, with no visible seams. Lucsly examined it. "It materialized along with the message," she said, motioning to her PADD, where he could see the received message in bright orange. "It is supposed to hold some sort of warning. We are to deliver it and wait until he has opened and read it, then protect him until he leaves."  
  
"Protect?" He picked up the PADD. The translated message was terse, '17. Deliver admonition, safeguard subject'.  
  
"Unusual, yes. But he does have a number of enemies."  
  
Lucsly frowned. "We are not security guards."  
  
"Nonetheless, that's our assignment. I'll talk to Captain Reginald, they can lend us a security detail."  
  
He huffed. Definitely not an usual mission. He wondered if it could get any worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is split in three chapters, and will be immediately followed by "The Enterprise and the Doctor". As always, I'll post one chapter every Friday, unless Real Life intervenes.
> 
> Agent Lucsly has only had a brief appearance on the TV, on the famous Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations", but he and the whole of DTI are greatly developed in the Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations novels by Christopher L. Bennett. If you liked this story, or if you just like stories about time-travel-related problems, you'll enjoy his books.
> 
> I've invented the Tozenor specifically for this story, as yet another humanoid civilization within the Federation. I have developed a reasonable backstory for them, and they may appear again later, but there'd be very few individuals employed by the Federation outside their home systems at any one time, so they shouldn't be very common. AFAIK the name hasn't been used yet, but please advise me if I'm wrong.


	2. Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I've updated this and the previous chapter to correct some mistakes and make it easier to follow.  
> Al Rijil VII, also known as Alpha Centauri VII, is an M-class planet inhabited by Centaurans, who may be descendants from a group of Terrans transplanted from Greece in the 3rd century BC (cf. Memory Beta). Population numbers on the billions of inhabitants, almost undistinguishable (most of them) from humans. It is the closest inhabited system to Sol. Apparently the travel time would be approximately one day at high warp.  
> Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek, nor Doctor Who.

Lucsly entered the transporter room, still struggling to attach the identifier to a clip on his belt, from which the type 2 phaser already dangled. The bulky orange-colored device was to be used to verify the Doctor's identity, since he was some sort of shapeshifter and his current appearance was unknown. He raised his head to check on the group already waiting in the room. Agent Bel had yet to arrive, he noticed, silently congratulating himself. Lieutenant Arrini, the Andorian officer in charge of the  _Falco_ 's security detachment, was talking with the guards he had selected as their escorts but as he saw him enter he turned towards the young DTI agent.

"Here, put this on," he said, giving him the ear communicator. "It's already been integrated into our comm system. We'll track your position from here. Don't forget to check in if everything is all right. Otherwise we  _will_ jump in."

"Thanks," Lucsly replied, trying to adjust to the sensation of the thing inside his ear channel. It had been modified to fit human ears, but he still felt something off. Using the devices had been the Andorian's idea, and he felt a little better knowing the lieutenant had their backs, figuratively speaking. Captain Reginald had recommended him as an outstanding security officer with a brilliant tactical mind and a very professional attitude, if somewhat opinionated. His help had been invaluable in analysing the available information and planning their approach. But the two DTI agents were still the ones supposed to initiate the contact with their target, so Lucsly was feeling more than a bit nervous.

At least the alien was reportedly non-violent. Lucsly had spent hours meticulously inquiring the AI briefing program contained in the datapad, and it had confirmed most of what Agent Bel had already told him. It had also steadfastly refused to add more information to what he already knew, with very few exceptions. It didn't matter how he phrased the questions, or what new angles he tried, it almost never deviated from the standard answer, 'IRRELEVANT', displayed on the screen. Irrelevant meaning of course that it refused to even consider the question. Therefore Bel had been impressed when he informed her that he had managed to extract the information that the Doctor was apparently accompanied by an 'unknown' person. The Doctor had been by himself the other times she met him so she hadn't thought about asking that question again. But that was all. He adjusted his shoulder bag and tried to follow the instructions Arrini was giving his team.

Agent Bel finally arrived just in time for the scheduled transport, bringing only her own phaser, and the two DTI agents climbed on the transport pads. "Activate," she said, and the room dissolved around him.

The transporter brought them to a corner of Tennaa's central plaza, on higher ground, from which they had a view of the whole area. The market was bustling with people, both native and tourists, wandering around or stopping at the garishly decorated stands lined around the perimeter to look at their wares. Most wore the colorful gowns typical of the region. Lucsly moved at a quick pace towards the other end. His partner followed more slowly, keeping her distance to avoid spooking their target.

Lucsly looked around, worriedly. He wasn't exactly short, but these people were taller than average humans, and he found he couldn't see very far. Agent Bel had remarked that while she might not be able to recognize his face, the Doctor would most likely be wearing very distinctive clothing. But he wondered how he'd be able to identify their quarry among all those flashy colors. Their plan hinged on their ability of spotting the Doctor before he slipped away, but it was harder than they had foreseen, even though the market was not really crowded. He checked his belt again for the identifier. Unfortunately it had a range of no more than five meters. Besides he couldn't start pointing it around without attracting too much attention to himself.

While looking to his left, he glimpsed something. There was a young girl warily looking around, as if searching for hidden threats. With her, there was an old man, white-haired, wearing some sort of long black cape over a high-necked shirt, distinctive and oddly anachronistic. It was her attitude that had attracted his attention at first, but if Agent Bel was right about his clothes, this might be the Doctor. He stalked towards one of the alleys that exited on the plaza, and the girl hurried behind him.

Lucsly stopped half hidden by a tree and observed their progress, relaying their position through his communicator. The moment they turned into the alley, he called for transport.

Lucsly was beamed down just a few meters ahead of the man. He looked startled for a moment, but the agent approached with his arms open and his palms forward, as if he was approaching a scared animal. The man huffed, face indignant, but his eyes were deep and watchful, examining him from head to toe. Lucsly saw that he noticed the phaser and then pointedly ignored it.

"Excuse me, sir, are you the Doctor?" asked Lucsly. The girl had grabbed the man's arm and was anxiously watching him, but the Doctor just patted her hand reassuringly.

"Doctor who?" he asked back, eyes twinkling. "And you, my young man, what is your name?"

"Agent Lucsly..." he started, but the man was turning towards the alley mouth, moving the girl protectively behind himself, and an instant later Agent Bel turned into the alley. She approached them, her hands clasped at chest height, palms outward. The Doctor relaxed and turned slightly to keep both agents within sight.

" _Barum salusar depak hatig_ ," he heard Bel saying, and Lucsly recognized that as the beginning of a formal Tozenor greeting for a respected senior. He had studied some Tozenor customs, after the last time they worked together. However their language was nearly incomprehensible by humans, since it used some sounds that couldn't be easily distinguished by human ears, or reproduced by human larynges.

" _Atik samar gateh_ ," the Doctor replied, after a brief moment. Well, apparently he could speak it. "You are far from home, hm? What is your name, my dear?" The Doctor was scrutinizing her even more closely than he had done with Lucsly, and he clearly noticed the slight hint of surprise that flashed through her face before she managed to school her features. Hell, Lucsly noticed it too, and his mind was rushing, trying to grasp the implications. "Ah, you've already met me, haven't you?" the Doctor asked.

"I'm really sorry, sir..." she tried to say, but he had already turned back towards Lucsly and was considering him intently, while the young agent alternately gaped at him in horror and looked indignantly at his partner. It was clear the man must be a time traveler, and Bel had neglected to tell him that. As if it wasn't the most important bit of information in the whole case!

Then the Doctor closed off his face. "You'd better tell me  _right now_  who are you, and who sent you here to find me," he ordered them imperiously.

In an instant it seemed that he had assumed full authority over their little group. Agent Bel nodded and answered, respectfully. "I am Senior Agent Bel'azikarrak and this is my partner, Agent Gariff Lucsly. We are from the Department of Temporal Investigations of the United Federation of Planets." He continued to glower at her, but she simply looked back serenely. "I'm sorry sir, but we need to confirm your identity," she finally said, nodding towards Lucsly.

Lucsly noticed that the girl was really scared now, observed them both wide-eyed while trying to hide behind the Doctor's back. The Doctor was regarding Lucsly again with a raised eyebrow. The agent fought to control his anger and removed the Doctor identifier from his belt, pointing it at him, while the Doctor watched warily. The thing trilled softly. He nodded and said, "You are the Doctor." Then his hand slipped slightly to the left, and the device trilled again, in a different tune. Lucsly was surprised, it also seemed to recognize the girl. He turned it towards Bel, and it bleated instead.

The Doctor moved swiftly and removed the device from his hand before he could utter another word. "That's quite enough, young man. I hope you are satisfied that I am who you were looking for," he said, facing Bel. "Why are you here?" But his haughty, forbidding face failed to visibly impress the Tozenor.

"We have a message for you. Lucsly, please give him the container." The Doctor absentmindedly gave the identifier device to the girl and took the container with both hands, examining it carefully, with his fingers tracing the spirals that decorated it. Then he raised his head and stared at Bel.

"You may go now," he commanded.

"No, sir. We are to wait until you open it, then we'll escort you back to your ship." She must have signaled the Andorian lieutenant at that moment, because he and three of his team beamed down around them and quickly moved to scan their surroundings.

Lucsly was certain he saw a tremor run through the Doctor's hands when he noticed the armed security officers arriving around him. He realized a lot of his posturing was likely just a mask, and he was probably afraid they were there to arrest him. But when he saw they were looking outwards and checking their perimeter he pivoted back towards Bel. Glaring at her, he pressed one of the ends of the cylinder and it clicked. Twisting the end, the Doctor opened it and peered inside.

"What is it, Grandfather?" The girl might still be afraid, but she seemed to be even more curious, as she tried to sneak a peek into the contents of the cylinder.

"Later, child," he chided her gently. She made a face, but obeyed and moved away. Then he removed a green translucid rod and what looked like a parchment scroll from inside the container. He examined the rod briefly and put it back inside. Then he quickly scanned the scroll. Raising his head and staring absently at the agents, he rolled it back up into the cylinder and closed it. He pushed the container into one of his coat's internal pockets then asked the girl, "Now, please, give me back that horrid orange thing..."

At that moment a cry of alert was heard, and Lucsly jumped forward. He had been watching carefully the two time travelers, and the girl was closest to him, so he grabbed her and brought her down to the ground, into a recess on the alley's wall. The orange identifier device jumped from her hands and ended up three meters away, while all around them shouts and screams were heard, together with the shrill noise of phaser beams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it'll take one more chapter (I hope) to finish this story. I thought I could keep it simple and short, but I didn't manage it this time. I hope you enjoy it, anyway.


End file.
